And now for something completely different… I’ve been raising monarchs. I’m still a novice, and so I joined a Facebook group, The Beautiful Monarch, to learn more. This video was posted by Claire Holzner. It was created by her brother who videoed the first flight of many monarchs. Meditate on the video and scratch a small poem into your notebook.
Share your experience with the meditation and your resulting draft. Comment on other writers with encouraging words.
There is drama in the first moments of flight, like the sudden cry of an infant born.
Earlier this week, I witnessed a female monarch laying eggs in my milkweed. She was an unexpected, yet welcomed visitor. I watched while she flitted from leaf to leaf. I have gathered 10 of the leaves into a net habitat to wait and watch.
My writing partner Catherine Flynn wrote an etheree today on her site, Reading to the Core. Here is the definition of the form:
An etheree is a poem of ten lines in which each line contains one more syllable than the last. Beginning with one syllable and ending with ten, this unrhymed form is named for its creator, 20th century American poet Etheree Taylor Armstrong.
Pearl on milkweed, seed for monarch, still and quiet August: Promised ingredient to Mother Earth’s recipe for autumn migration glory. Like watching the birth of a grandchild, I’m mere observer of this miracle.
Margaret Simon, 2020
For my birthday last week, Catherine sent me this sweet golden shovel. I’ve met many kind people in the Poetry Friday community, and Catherine is one of the best. We’ve been in a writing group for five years. We meet by Zoom (even before the pandemic) every other week. I am blessed to have such a kind and loving writing partner. Thanks, Catherine. The feeling is mutual.
“…all that might be gained from opening one’s heart wider. Rebecca Mead, My Life in Middlemarch
How fortunate am I that of all the people in the world that I might have met, I met you, a kindred spirit, destined to be friends. So much to give, so much to be gained by writing together, learning from you, opening my eyes to new vistas, so different from ones I know, reaching my heart, helping it grow wider.
Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for creating an amazing community of writers and a safe, welcoming space to write and share.
On Friday, Michelle Heindrich Barnes lovingly posted an interview with me over at Today’s Little Ditty. With her Reader’s Spotlights, she asks us to prompt a writing challenge. I wrote this challenge:
The practice of writing poetry is an exercise in mindfulness. To be open to the universe of words and to put them down on a page is nothing short of a miracle. Mary Oliver said, “There is no nothingness—With these little atoms that run around too little for us to see. But, put together, they make something. And that to me is a miracle. Where it came from, I don’t know. But it’s a miracle, and I think it’s enough to keep a person afloat.”
Write a mindful poem about the present moment.
To my pleasant surprise, Heidi Mordhorst and Mary Lee Hahn created a Twitter hashtag #PoemsofPresence to invite poets to write a small poem every day in May. The idea has gathered some following. Michelle created a graphic.
The last of my monarch chrysalises emerged. Last week, I successfully released 7 new monarchs into the sky. My friend and neighbor, who is also a teacher and a photographer, asked to come over to photograph a release. Here’s one of her amazing photos.
Photo by Lory Landry
Monarch Release
Fly, friend, fly! while I walk and walk watching your wings glow like the sunset.
I live on the Bayou Teche in New Iberia, Louisiana. I love teaching, poetry, my dog Charlie, my three daughters, and dancing with my husband. This space is where I capture my thoughts, share my insights, and make connections with the world. Welcome! Walk in kindness.
Reflections on the Teche 